the sun is shining again
by meranii-chan
Summary: ..."It's okay, Téa; After all, tomorrow's a brand new day."


**Author's Note: **Hello, everyone! This is my second fanfiction that I've written, but my first for Yu-Gi-Oh! I'll be using the dub names. My story takes place two months after the duel between Atem and Yugi. Also, the story has a mix of the Japanese and American 'usage', okay? This story is dedicated to MyAibou, for her totally awesome stories, both in Danny Phantom and Yu-Gi-Oh! You've inspired me a great deal! Only constructive criticism is allowed, okay? Onto disclaimers!

**Disclaimers: **I don't own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" Kazuki Takahashi does, sadly. I also don't own the song "Brand New Day" by Fireflight, which this piece of fiction is based off of. I also had help from the sites, "Yu-Jyo, A Yu-Gi-Oh! Episode Guide" and "YouTube"! Without these sites, I wouldn't have known what happened in the last episode!

And now, onto the story!

* * *

**Brand New Day**

* * *

It was one heck of a day; the bright, yellow sun was glowing, the sky had a nice blue hue, and it was cloudless. Nothing could ruin such a wonderful day. But for one young man, the day seemed to grow endless. He hadn't taken notice of the outside world for the past few weeks and all because of one duel.

All because of one person.

Yugi Mutou lay on his bed in his bedroom, the shades shut and his door closed. Normally, his room was spic-and-span, but now...it was like a hurricane _and_ a tsunami had hit it. Books were skewered all over his desk, his bedspread was a mess, and clothes littered the floor. His own clothes, a plain, white T-shirt with black jeans, were dirty and unkempt.

_'Other Me…why did you have to leave? I didn't want you to go...I didn't want you to leave...' _Yugi asked himself, sullenly thinking of the last few moments he had with _him_ before he departed from their world. His thoughts turned to the sorrowful event that happened that day...

* * *

_A few moments have passed after __**his **__and Yugi's duel. Then, a bright, blinding light appeared at the door. Walking up to the door, __**he **__says, "I am the son of King Aknamkanon. My name is...Atem!" The door slid open, but a voice interrupts him from walking through._

_"So that's how it ends, huh? Nice! You think you can show up and change everyone's lives, and then just leave?!" Shouted Tristan as he covered his face with his hands to hide the stream of tears bound to come. Téa and Joey_ _also closed their eyes to stop the clear crystals about to fall, while Yugi wiped his away with his sleeve. _

_"What Tristan means is," Yugi spoke up, "that we don't want to say goodbye."_

_"Exactly! Pharaoh, I know walking through that door means your spirit will finally be free, and it's all for the best, but it doesn't seem fair! I mean I feel like we were all just getting to know you! In fact you were just beginning to know yourself! And now you're being taken away from us! I know we should be happy for you, but it's really hard to do that when you're losing your best friend and I just don't understand why it has to be that way!" Téa, shattered and broken, spilled everything bottled up inside, wiping her eyes._

_"I guess there are some things we're not supposed ta understand. Just look at me; I spent my whole life not understandin' what's goin' on!" Joey answered. "But I know that true friends may be hard ta leave, but they're impossible to forget! And even though his stay wasn't as long as we woulda liked, we're lucky we knew him at all."_

_Téa thought to herself, "Goodbye, Atem, and good luck."_

_As the Pharaoh strode towards the door, Joey called out to him, "Hey, Pharaoh! I hate to break the terrible news to ya, but you're not goin' anywhere 'cause everything you've given us stays right here in our hearts!" Then, he gave him a grin._

_"Right," __**he**__ affirmed._

"_Like we always say,_ _it's your move!" A voice called out from nowhere. It belonged to Yugi._

_"No matter what your real name is, you'll always be Yugi; even in a thousand years, you'll always be our friend," Joey added one more time._

_The last thing __**he **__ever did was give them all a thumbs up, walking into the light, his friends and family behind the doors. His clothes changed to that of the ancient Pharaoh's. As the doors began the close, Téa tried to run after him, but Joey holds her back._

_"Goodbye, Other Me…" Yugi murmured._

* * *

_'All I had to do was call for you, and you'd be there...Why did you have to go?'_

"Yugi! Téa is here!" Solomon Mutou called up at his grandson, snapping him out of his reverie.

"Coming, Grandpa!" Yugi yelled back at his grandfather, albeit not sincerely ecstatic. He really didn't want to do anything at all that day; he only felt like sulking in his room, anyway from everyone.

He arrived downstairs to find Téa in a cute outfit. It consisted of black, faded jeans that flared at her ankles, red flip-flops, and a red tube-top, being a mid-riff. Around her neck, she wore a black, beaded, chunky necklace with red bangles on both wrists. Yugi couldn't help but stare at how pretty, how beautiful she looked, but he caught himself and turned a shade of red. How ironic; even though he was upset about Atem, he still couldn't help but think about Téa at a time like this. And she's wearing red, no less.

"C'mon, Yugi! I promised you I'd give you the best day of your life. Remember? Just you and me!" She told him, smiling.

"Yeah, I remember. Just lemme get ready, and we'll go," he said, without much enthusiasm.

_'Yugi...I'm gonna try my hardest to make you happy - make you yourself __again,' _his best friend thought, determined.

* * *

After Yugi got cleaned and dressed in his usual black-leather attire, the two of them headed to Burgerpalooza. When they received a booth, their waiter gave each of them a menu.

"I think I'm just gonna have a small hamburger with a small coke. How 'bout you?" She grinned, already knowing what he would order.

"I think I'm just gonna get the same," Yugi answered quietly. Téa's eyes bulged straight out of their sockets after hearing what Yugi said. Was he serious? Yugi, who loved hamburgers, the _KING_ of Hamburgers, wasn't going to order a Double-Deluxe Burger?!

When the food came, they ate in an awkward silence. No words were exchanged, only opening their mouths to chew and swallow. She needed to cheer him up, and fast!

They ended up at the arcade later, after going to his place again, the Kame Game Shop, to look for new cards, but all Yugi did was mope some more about _him_. It was so unlike him that it made Téa upset. So, here they were, at the arcade, the same one where Téa had that dance duel with What's-His-Face **(1)**.

"So, Yugi, what do you wanna do now?" she implored.

"I don't know...I'm gonna go sit over by the karaoke system for awhile, okay?" He didn't wait for her response, which left Téa to think to herself.

_'I don't know how I'm gonna cheer him up. Ever since...__**then**__, he's been moody. I have to figure __**something **__out.' _

She looked around the arcade until she saw **it**. '_How did I not see it when I came here before?!'_

"That's it!" She cried, receiving odd, questioning stares from everyone around her in the arcade.

"Take a picture; it'll last longer," she replied to the gazes of the on-lookers, running towards the DJ.

* * *

_'Other Me… I miss you…I know Téa is trying to cheer me up, but I…I just wanna be left alone…'_

"It's _Karaoke_ _Time_!" a voice screeched throughout the distance, unexpectedly throwing Yugi off of his train of thought. "Who will be our first singer?" The DJ inquired to the crowd.

"I'll do it!" Someone said.

That someone was Téa.

Yugi searched her face for answers as to why she would do such a thing. Her face gave away no replies, however, as she walked up onto the stage. She looked so confident up there. It reminded him of _his_ confidence.

_'Other Me…'_

"I'd like to dedicate this song to a good friend - I mean, a great friend of mine. Here's to you," she stated the last part softly, cueing the DJ to start the music. On the television screen to her right was where the lyrics would roll, and so they did. She held the microphone gently, and started singing sweetly.

_**I'm waking up;  
the world is turning,  
the sun is shining again  
I'm holding on  
to things I shouldn't;  
It's time to let them go**_

_**When I've been on a losing streak;  
hit so hard I couldn't speak,  
but when I hear your voice, it fades away**_

Her voice flowed smoothly, reminiscent of her dancing: with dexterity and flawlessness. Then, her voice suddenly got louder to fully impact the next few lines, bouncing her right foot up and down to the beat of the song.

_**And I can hear you say,  
"It's a brand new day."  
The pain goes away  
and I'm headed for the door  
and now I'm going home  
I'm going home**_

Her voice went back to the silky, creamy voice she had before.

_**Your love, it burns  
away my darkness;  
You guide me when I'm blind  
You are the light  
that shines inside me,  
showing me I'm  
so much more**_

_**When I've been on a losing streak;  
hit so hard I couldn't speak,  
but when I hear your voice, it fades away**_

By now, she was bobbing her head to the beat, too.

_**And I can hear you say,  
"It's a brand new day."  
The pain goes away  
and I'm headed for the door  
and I'm going home  
I'm going home**_

Now, the song was reaching its climax.

_**Take me into your arms**_

Slowly shutting her eyes closed, she wrapped her arms around herself, pretending to hug someone.

_**My home lies within your heart**_

Here, she pointed with her index finger at Yugi, indicating his heart. Then, she sat on the stage.

_**And I can hear you say,  
"It's a brand new day."**_

She swiftly stood up, bringing the last few lines of the song, dancing to the song's meaningful message.

_**And I can hear you say,  
"It's a brand new day."  
The pain goes away  
and I'm headed for the door**_

_**And I can hear you say,  
"It's a brand new day."  
The pain goes away  
and I'm headed for the door  
and I'm going home  
I'm going home  
I'm going home**_

"_**I'm**_ _**going**_ _**home**_," she whispered, a tear sliding down her face, and then closing her eyes. Looking down at the ground, she let go of the microphone, stepping away from the stand.

Silence filled the entire room.

Then, an explosion of applause was heard even outside of the arcade for the determined, melodious young girl on stage, some people even giving a standing ovation.

"Téa…" Yugi, standing up, was speechless. Never hearing her sing before, saying he was surprised was an understatement. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind; he was dumbstruck.

Téa curtsied as best as she could in jeans, and strode off the stage, towards Yugi's table.

"So, how was it? Did you like it?" She asked, with her blue eyes hopeful. Hopeful for what, Yugi didn't know.

"...It was wonderful, Téa. Thank you." He smiled the smallest of smiles. Téa felt like she was about to burst with joyfulness. Yugi was back! Instead of screaming it to the heavens, she sided with glomping him instead.

"I'm glad you're back, Yugi. I'm happy you can smile again," she whispered silently in his ear, her eyes closed, and her head resting on his shoulder.

_'When did he get so tall?' _Téa wondered. Within the short time that Atem had gone, Yugi had grown tall as tall as Téa, but still shorter than Joey and Tristan.

Yugi was taken a-back by her hug that it left him stunned for a few moments, blood rushing to his face, but he soon returned her token of affection.

"No, thank _you_; if it weren't for you, who knows _where _I would've been in a few weeks!" They shared a weak chuckle for a few split seconds, the arcade growing inaudible. Time seemed to stop, all the people moving in what looked like slow motion. For an instant, Yugi gazed his deep, violet eyes into Téa's light, crystal-clear blue ones.

Inside of Yugi's mind, an internal battle raged on.

'_Just kiss her!'_ his mind screamed.

'_**Don't! **__You're only doing this to get rid of the pain, to keep your thoughts astray from __**him**__…'_

On and on the battle went; Téa could see in his eyes that he was upset about something.

'_I wonder what he's thinking…' _she thought. In just a few moments, she would get her answer.

His eyes set with determine akin to that of his Other Self, he took the chance, and kissed her.

It was the briefest of pecks, but a peck, nonetheless. It seemed unreal to both Téa and Yugi; Téa even felt herself become weak in the knees.

'_No…He doesn't mean this…He's only doing this so he doesn't feel alone anymore…'_

'_You know you want this. Just let him-'_

'_No! I have to stop this! __**NOW**__!'_

Immediately, Téa broke the kiss. Oblivious to her thoughts, Yugi was confused. What just happened?

"Téa…What…Why'd you-?"

"Yugi, you didn't mean to kiss me…It's only because…because you miss-!"

"Don't say his name! Please-!"

"**Because you miss Atem!!**" Yugi had never heard her so heartbroken. She continued.

"And you're only using me to fill the void where he used to be! If you're going to kiss me, then don't do it because you-!"

She never got to finish her statement; Yugi captured her lips with his. This time, the kiss was more passionate, filled with loneliness, desperation, and something else Téa couldn't think of on the tip of her tongue, but she didn't care; Yugi was _kissing_ her.

_**Again!**_

Yugi then broke the kiss. He noticed Téa had tears streaming down her face. Gently wiping them away, he said:

"Téa, do you realize how long I've wanted to kiss you? How long I've wanted to just hold you and never, _ever_ let you go? That first kiss…maybe it _was _because I missed…**him**, but the minute you said that I didn't mean to kiss you…I couldn't take it; I had to show you how much I care about you. So don't think for a _second_ that I'm only using you to get rid of the pain. I did it because _I love you_," Yugi declared sincerely, his eyes staring into hers intently.

"Yugi…"

"Just answer me this, Téa: Do you still love…Atem?" Yugi questioned, his voice cracking on **his** name; it had been awhile since Yugi last said it.

For a while, there was silence; Téa didn't know what to say.

'_Do I still love him? Maybe I was only kissing Yugi because __**I**__ missed Atem…"_

"Téa?" Yugi asked, his voice reminding her of a little kid. He seemed so fragile as if at any moment, he could shatter into a million pieces. It all depended on her words.

"…No. But I don't know if I love you. I need time to sort this out. Is that okay?" she asked with hopeful eyes. Hopeful for what, Yugi didn't know, but he hoped that someday, it was what _he_ was hoping for…

Smiling softly, Yugi said, "Yeah, it's okay, Téa; after all, tomorrow's a brand new day."

* * *

_**Fin**_

* * *

**Author's Note:** And viola! My second story done! Tell me what you think! Please review! I know the ending was cheesy. Actually, the whole thing was cheesy...Steal the cheese away, people! Ha! I made a funny! Oh, God, I'm just extra balls of stupid, aren't I?

**(1) **Johnny Steps from episode 54 in the English adaptation.


End file.
